September 10, 2021

The word “tsukuru” in Japanese, meaning “to make” or “to foster” in English, conjures an image of creating something new or some new situation. I used to think of it as a positive word. But after a certain point in the past, on an increasing number of occasions, I came to feel uneasy, dissatisfied or even irritated at times about “things made by someone else”, be it a building, facility, system or custom, or information. Then I was startled by my own realization that “systems that will produce people who are incapable” or “things and situations that will bring to people a sense of self-loss and alienation” are made and exist in society.

This realization was most likely triggered by the fact that my own standing in society had been drastically changed and seriously affected my outlook on the world around me. Some 30 years ago, when I was cycling across a pedestrian crossing under a green light, I was hit by a dump truck driven by a driver dozing off at the wheel. Thus I started my life on a wheelchair. While in hospital, I thought that it would just mean using a wheelchair instead of walking when moving from one place to another. Such optimism was immediately crushed upon leaving the hospital. I discovered that there was a severe limit to the institutions, facilities and services accessible to wheelchair users. All of a sudden, it seemed as if I were an extraneous encumbrance to society. An acute sense of alienation hit me whenever I found myself in a situation where people like me had not been envisaged as possible end-users.

Thus I came to feel that society cannot better itself unless we can bring about changes in the awareness of those who make “things”, “matters” and “programs” in one form or another. If that is the case, I would rather take part in activities to foster creators of the future. I would aim at　instilling the idea of “inclusiveness” in people’s minds, so that there will be more and more places where those with disabilities can feel “comfortable”, that is, feel at ease, have a peace of mind, exert their skills and capabilities, and feel that they, too, have a role to play. A friend of mine with visual disability chooses to go shopping to a supermarket some distance away from her home.
The reason is that there is a cane holder at the checkout counter, which makes it easy to open the purse with both hands to pay. My friend is glad to be counted as one of the customers.
Admittedly, it requires the help of many people to change society, and it will take time. But, with all that help, we can both “imagine” and “create” (the Japanese word for both these verbs is “souzou”) the kind of future that we long for and the kind of place which will bring comfort to many more people.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization. It has reduced the places for people to congregate as well as the chances for experiences with human touch. It has diluted real human-to-human communication. In order to live resiliently in this age of uncertainty, we need to respect diversity, care about our engagement with others and society at large, and think about the value of human-to-human ties and co-existence.

The Paralympic experience has taught me to “develop the habit of thinking not about what I cannot do, but about what I should do to be able to do what I wish to do”. It has also taught me that when you see that there is a problem, it shows that you are still lacking in ideas on how to solve it. These are the concepts that I would like to impart to people. By so doing, I hope to play my part in ensuring that there will be more and more young people who believe in themselves and tackle the future affirmatively on the strength of their beliefs. Then society will transform itself into a better place.


Miki Matheson competed in Ice Sledge Speed Racing in the 1998 Nagano Winter Paralympics Games, winning 3 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal. This essay appeared in the August 2021 edition of the monthly journal KAJIMA.

2021年 9月 10日

「つくる」という言葉には、新しい物や状態を生み出すというイメージがあり、私にとっては、ポジティブな単語という認識だった。ところがある時を境に、建造物や設備、制度や慣行、情報など、「誰かがつくったもの」に違和感や不満、時には苛立ちすらも感じる経験が増え、社会の中には「できない人が生じる仕組み」や、「自己喪失感や疎外感をもたらす物や状態」もつくり出されて存在していることに気がついてハッとした。

それは恐らく、社会の中での自分の立ち位置が変わり、社会の見方が大きく変わったのがきっかけだ。今から30年ほど前、自転車で青信号の横断歩道を渡っていた時に、居眠り運転のダンプカーにはねられ、車椅子を使って生活するようになった。歩く代わりに、移動に車椅子を使うだけという、楽観的な認識は、退院後あっという間に覆された。車椅子でアクセスできる施設や設備、サービスは限定されていることを知り、一気に社会の異物になり、足手まといになった気がした。エンドユーザーとして想定されていない場面では、その度に疎外感を突きつけられる。

様々な形で「モノ」「コト」「トキ」を生み出す、つくり手の意識を変えなければ、社会は改善しない。それならば、未来の創造者をつくる活動に携わりたいと考えるようになった。インクルーシブな考え方を浸透させること。そうすることで、「心地いい居場所」つまり、安心できる場所、心が休まる場所や、能力を発揮でき、自分にも役割があると感じられる場所が増えていくという考えだ。視覚に障害のある友人は、わざわざ自宅から少し離れたスーパーに買い物に行くそうだ。理由は、レジに設置された杖おき。両手で財布を開けることができて支払いがしやすいだけでなく、客として想定されているのが嬉しいと。社会を変えるには、多くの人の協力が必要だし、時間もかかるだろう。でも、自分たちが「欲しい！」と感じる未来や、より多くの人にとって心地が良い居場所をソウゾウ（想像・創造）していきたい。

コロナ禍でデジタル化は加速した。人が集まる場所は減り、人間味を感じる体験や、リアルなコミュニケーションは希薄になっている。不確かな時代を、しなやかに生き抜くには、多様性を尊重し、他者や社会との関わりや人とのつながり、共生について考えていく必要がある。パラリンピックが私に教えてくれた「できないことではなく、どうすればできるようになるか考える習慣」や、「問題があるということは、アイデアがまだ欠如しているということ」という概念を伝えていきたい。そうすることで、自分を信じ、未来を肯定的に信じ抜く力を有する若者が増え、社会は着実により良い場所にとシフトしていくだろう。

筆者は長野1998パラリンピック冬季競技大会 アイススレッジスピードレースに出場、金メダル３、銀メダル１を獲得。１５００ｍでは世界新記録樹立。本稿は、月刊KAJIMA 2021.08に掲載された。